By Pattee Mak
On November 5, 2011 at Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT, Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES) in association with Global Boxing Promotions will hold live professional boxing. The card consists of many talented boxers, a portion of which consists of local fan favorites and four undefeated polish boxers. I’m excepting the arena to be packed with many high-energy polish fans to show their support. If you’ve never experienced the boisterous cheers of a polish crowd at an event you need to see it for yourself. I’m thinking to fit right in I’m going to have to wear the polish colors of red and white.
The main event consists of Mariusz Wach (25-0-0) from North Bergon, New Jersey who will be fighting to retain his WBC international heavyweight title against Oliver “Atomic Bull” McCall (56-11-0) from Chicago, Illinois. Other fights include Middleweight Elvin Ayala (24-5-1) of Rhode Island is fighting against Miguel Hernandez (20-11-0) of Chicago, Illinois who is a former contestant of The Contender. Middleweight Patrick “The Machine” Majewski (17-0-0) of Atlantic City, New Jersey fighting against Dionisio Miranda (21-7-2) of Miami, Florida for the vacant NABF middleweight title. Majewski is currently the WBO NABO middleweight champion. Heavyweight Artur Szpilka (8-0-0), a southpaw from Wieliczka, Poland. This will be his 3rd time fighting in the USA and twice at Mohegan Sun. Szpilka just had a victorious win over Owen “What the Heck” Beck in Poland. Super featherweight Kamil Laszczyk (4-0-0) from North Bergon, New Jersey. Ricky Dawson (4-0-0) from New Haven, Connecticut vs. Borngod Washington (2-9) of Queens, New York. Cruiserweight Jose Torres (0-1) of Springfield, Massachusetts, welterweight Edwin Soto (7-0-1) of New Haven, Connecticut vs. Diego Pereira (6-0-0) of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, junior featherweight Josh Crespo (0-0-1) of New Haven, Connecticut vs. Nate Green (debut) of New Haven, Connecticut and junior welterweight Christian Lao (2-1-0) also of New Haven, Connecticut vs. Antonio Fernandez (0-5-0) of Brockton, Massachusetts.
Prior to this event I had the chance to interview a few of the boxers that will be fighting on the card. They are as follows: Mariusz Wach, Patrick “The Machine” Majewski, Elvin Ayala, Artur Szpilka and Kamil Laszczyk.
Helping me with this interview for Wach, Szpilka and Laszczyk is their interpreter Kasia Niedzwiecka who is employed with Global Boxing Promotions out of North Bergeron, New Jersery.
Pattee: Hello!
Pattee: How is your training coming along for your upcoming fight? And are the 3 of you being trained at Global Boxing Gym in New Jersey? If not where are you currently training?
Wach: So far, training is right on track. We are right on schedule. I started my strength and conditioning in Poland. Once I arrived back from Poland, I immediately picked up with my boxing training at Global Boxing Gym. I train three times a day. My boxing trainers are wonderful. I am currently training with, June DeLeon, Ralph Mendez and Aurelio Toyo. Marcin Machula is my strength trainer. My boxing training has consisted of lots of pad work and sparring. I have two sparring partners and three more to come.
Szpilka: Before my previous fight, I was training at Global Boxing Gym. It’s a great place, great facility. I enjoyed my time there. Now I’m training in Warsaw, Poland, in my gym called “KnockOut Gym”.
Laszczyk: I have another fight coming up before the Nov 5th show. My training has been going very well at Global Boxing Gym. I train twice a day. I get my strength and conditioning in after my boxing training. I’ve gotten good sparring in, as well as good pad work with my trainer. I fought just two weeks ago in Mississippi, so I’m already in shape. It was the first time I hadn’t scored a knockout so I’m hungry to score a knockout here.
Pattee: Who is training you?
Szpilka: My boxing trainer is Fiodor Lapin. He’s an amazing guy, the best trainer I’ve ever worked with. I have many great people around me. I’m training together with WBC world Champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk, European champion Grzegorz Proksa and many other tremendous fighters, like Pawel Kolodziej or Dawid Kostecki.
Laszczyk: I’m training with Aroz “Terrific” Gist. Terrific guided Kendall Holt to the junior welterweight championship of the world and I hope to be his second champion.
Pattee: Majewski I know from time to time you travel to Global Boxing Gym in New Jersey. Will you be preparing for this fight there or if not, where will you be preparing for this fight and who’s training you?
Majewski: I often train at Global Boxing Gym but my trainer, Bill Johnson living in Atlantic City so I’m training in both gyms. It’s really great for me to have the opportunity to train at Global Boxing Gym and AC Pal cause I can get so much good sparring in both gyms and I can see great fighters in both gyms. I often spar with Shamone Alvarez but for this fight not too much because he’s a southpaw and my opponent is not.
Pattee: Ayala you are currently training in Pawtucket, Rhode Island at Peter Manfredo’s Gym. How’s your training coming along and how are you preparing for this fight?
Ayala: Training with Manfredo has been great, I currently live in Rhode Island to be closer to the gym. I don’t take anybody lightly, so I will train and prepare myself as if he was unstoppable.
Pattee: Ayala you won your last fight on July 29, 2011 against Derrick Findley by UD and Miguel Hernandez’s last fight was against Derrick Findley and Hernandez lost by TKO round 4 of 8. Since you were victorious with Findley and Hernandez lost to Findley do you feel this will be an easy fight?
Ayala: One thing! Styles makes fight.
Pattee: Is it difficult to train for a fight without knowing whom your opponent will be?
Szpilka: I would definitely feel more comfortable if I knew my opponent’s name, but … to be honest …. it’s not one of the championship fights. It’s just the beginning of my professional career and on this level I have to be ready to face anybody.
Laszczyk: I don’t know who my opponent is yet. It isn’t difficult preparing for an unknown opponent. I trust my promoter, Mariusz Kolodziej. I leave finding out information about my opponent up to him. I know he will take care of me so I don’t worry about it. My job as a fighter is to train hard and to be ready for whatever opponent I do end up fighting.
Pattee: Majewski as of today your opponent will be Dionisio Miranda from Florida. His current record is 21-7-2. Wach your opponent is Oliver McCall and Ayala your opponent is Miguel Hernandez. What can each of you tell me about your opponent?
Majewski: He’s like rated in the top 15 in the NABF and I know he been in the ring with the top competition. He has some knockout power cause he has like 18 knockouts. He’s a dangerous fighter but every fight for me is tougher fight. I know I have to fight the tougher fighter. I know I have to fight the harder fights cause if not people won’t pay attention to me.
Wach: He is a very experienced fighter. He has fought a lot of tough fights in his career as a boxer. I’ve been studying his fights and I feel I am 80% prepared for the fight. I still have three more weeks to get the other 20% together. My team and I are coming into this fight with different techniques that will help me dominate the fight.
Ayala: I don’t know too much about Miguel Hernandez except that he was in the 3rd contender series and I was rooting for him. LOL. I feel like I must be able to beat whoever is in front of me in order to be a world champion!!!…
Pattee: What would all of you like to say to your fans about this fight?
Wach: I want to invite everyone to come and support this fight. It is a very important fight for me and my career. If you can’t come out to the fight, you can catch it online. I’m encouraging the fans to come out to not only support me, but also the other fighters on the card. The fights are going to be very explosive and exciting. It is also going to be the first time that we have four Polish stars on the same card. I guarantee a good show for everyone who comes out to support the event.
Ayala: To the fans I want to say that I am working on becoming better in every fight so if you enjoyed my last fight then my next fight will be better and thank you for the support and love….God bless all!!
Szpilka: Watch the fight, come to Mohegan Sun and support us. I’m going to do my best and I’m sure my teammates, Mariusz Wach, Patrick Majewski and Kamil Laszczyk will do the same. It’s gonna be a great show, you will see some good fights. I’m sure it’s going to be an unforgettable night because Polish fans are amazing, the best in the world!
Laszczyk: I want to thank my fans for their support. The support that I have received from them is very important, especially now at the start of my career here in America. I especially appreciate the Polish community out here. I am also happy for the opportunity to fight on this card alongside my close friend Mariusz Wach. This is the first time I’ve fought in such a big venue. I am excited for this opportunity.
Majewski: To my fans I want to say come and see this fight it be nonstop action. He’s a tough opponent and I really want to win this title. Thanks to Global Boxing, they gave me the opportunity to fight for the title and I’ll do everything there is to win this title.
I spoke with Michael Parente of CES and asked him his thoughts about this upcoming card and where tickets can be purchased. He stated “This card is dynamic. It’s a real treat to have two champions and two title fights under one roof at Mohegan Sun. Wach is the future of the heavyweight division and Elvin Ayala is on the cusp of another world-title fight. Plus, you’ve got another rising star in Patrick Majewski fighting for the NABF title. Nowhere else in New England will you find this much talent on one card. We’re focused on making this our best show yet. That’s how we operate — with each show, we’re looking to be better than we were the last time out. So far, we’ve succeeded each time. We haven’t even unveiled the full card yet and there is already a tremendous buzz. If you wait too long to get your tickets, you’ll be left out in the cold. This arena will be packed on November 5th”.
This interview was either completed via email or over the telephone. All bouts and fighters subject to change.
Tickets are $40.00, $65.00 and $105.00 and can be purchased through CES at 401-724-2253/2254 or online at CESBoxing.com.
You can follow Wach, Majewski, Szpilka and Laszczyk progress in boxing at http://www.globalboxing.com and for Ayala please contact him directly on facebook under “Elvin Ayala”.
For previous interviews click on the following link. Wach: http://bit.ly/InterviewWach and Majewski: http://bit.ly/FightKingsMajewski.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to express your thoughts with me. Should you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions please comment below or find me on facebook under “Pattee Mak”.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
